Surprisingly, Vienna was our least favorite stop on our trip. Don’t get me wrong, we are glad we went, and Prague to Vienna to Budapest is a sequence I’d recommend to everyone. But Vienna is more sophisticated and self-assured than the others. It has a royal heritage, from the days when the Hapsburg empire ruled most of Europe and beyond. A driving force in classical music, home to the Lipizzaner stallions, with museums in a class with London and Paris, and perhaps beyond. This is the coffee house city, where cultured elites read newspapers and tell the rest of the world how things should be run — even if they are not listening. And unlike the other cities, they don’t NEED tourists. If you want to come and see how cool they are, fine. We’re happy to take your money and show you what your life is missing. If not, that’s fine, too.
Go to Vienna. It has great history, fabulous music and its coffee shops are wonderful. Everything runs with Germanic efficiency, and more than a touch of self-assured pride. But it’s a little too much like Frasier Crane for my taste.
The Hapsburg’s beautiful palace remains a centerpiece of the old city, which is beautiful. 
It also houses the Lipizzaner stallion training facility, where you can pay to observe them training horses. Not sure how this picture got here, though. They tell you after you buy the tickets that no photography is allowed. Hmmm. 
Museums are spectacular. This is only one building of a massive complex. The ancient history portion is fantastic. 
Remember the ancient library building in Ephesus? The statues there are replicas. Vienna has the originals. This is Sophia, one of the original four, dated around 100 A.D. 
Nice interior, don’t you think? 
It is not surprising that massive carved lions like this are found throughout the city. 
And guess who we ran into in the Ephesus section of the museum — our pastor’s son, Dr. Titus Kennedy, a biblical archaeologist. We knew he would be in town around the time we were, but it was great to meet him here purely by chance! 
Then of course, Vienna is one of the opera and symphony capitals of Europe. The opera house is impressive outside. 
And equally impressive inside. 
During our three days, we tried two coffee houses, including the oldest one in the city and this one near the palace. I can attest that yes, they DO know how to make great coffee and all the pastries to go with it!
